Albert Montanes v Marcos Baghdatis
Tennis: ATP Masters Monte Carlo 1st Round
Tuesday 13th April 2010 - Start 3:30pm GMT

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Preview

The clay court season is upon us and it is this time of the year when we should oppose Americans and back Rafael Nadal to the hilt. This is the first Masters event on this surface this season as we build towards the 2nd Grand Slam of the season at Roland Garros.

Albert Montanes is the World Number 32 and a late bloomer on the main ATP circuit. He is a Spaniard which means he should be well accustomed to the surface although he has not made a start that he would have hoped for when taking part in the South American swing a couple of months ago.

He is 5-3 so far this season from the 3 events he played in but has really performed on the clay courts over the last couple of seasons. Last season he was 17-10 on the surface, also winning 2 events and he reached the 3rd round here at Monte Carlo.

Montanes had his best performance at this Masters event last season as he had not been past the 2nd round in his previous 3 visits.

Marcos Baghdatis moved back into the World top 30 after his exploits this season and he will be hoping to make some sort of impact during this period of the season, a time he has struggled with in the last 2 seasons. The Cypriot has only played a couple of matches on a clay court this season, winning 2 Davis Cup ties.

The problem for Baghdatis is the fact that he has only played 3 matches on clay courts in main ATP events in the last 2 seasons before this one, and confidence cannot be high as he has lost all of those matches. The matches he has played have taken place at the French Open and he has not participated in too many clay court events in that time.

Baghdatis has only played at this event once in his career and was a first round loser to Max Mirnyi in 2007.

Prediction

Albert Montanes is a tricky clay courter and he usually can pose plenty of problems on this surface. He does not really have the big shots but relies much more on his guile and slices to keep the ball out of the zone for his opponent.

Marcos Baghdatis has never really hit the highs of his run to the Australian Open Final but it is a surprise to see his poor recent record on clay courts. However, much of this is down to injuries and missing this section of the season and his participation here at Monte Carlo suggests he feels he can have an impact this season. He has performed well on clay courts previously, albeit back in 2006 and 2007, but he should have some confidence from his successes this season.

I think if Baghdatis is serious, he can perform on these courts and he may have a chance to move forward in this tournament with the draw he has received.

This is a tough opening match for him but I'll take a shot on the Cypriot at odds against.

The Pick :

Marcos Baghdatis, possible 3 setter

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Marcos Baghdatis @ 2.25 (Pinnacle)